A Promise Kept
by Summer Potter
Summary: Post HBP Harry is leaving and Ginny is dealing with her pain. Ginny's about to learn that Harry has every intention of staying true to his words.


**Promise**

The crickets chirruped into the calamity of the night as stars twinkled overhead; splashed across the dark, navy sky, with the quarter-moon bearing down upon the eve. Ginny Weasley sighed heavily and pulled her knees up under the wooly blanket that she had brought out with her and rested her elbows on her knees, staring up into space.

Inside the house, she could still hear the angry voices that she had wanted so desperately to get away from. Her mother was sobbing as she shrilly pleaded with her brother, Hermione and Harry to stay a little longer, to just put it off a couple more days, but Ginny knew better. Harry would not be persuaded by anyone once he had his mind set.

"Mum, we're not little kids anymore! You knew that this was going to happen! You knew that we'd be leaving!" Ron's slightly muffled, but furious voice said indignantly.

"Ronald Weasley, you aren't seventeen for another two months and whilst you are still underage, I think it would be fair if-" Mrs. Weasley argued, but it was Hermione who spoke.

"Mrs. Weasley, we've been playing this for over a month now and we've got everything planned out." Hermione added earnestly. "We'll only be gone for a couple months at the most and we'll be sending back letters."

"I don't care!" Her mother raged.

Ginny bent her head down and her chin rested on her elbows. She refused to cry for Harry; he had been more than a stubborn git throughout July to her. He had avoided her for the most part, but at Fleur and Bill's wedding, she managed to convince him to dance, though he pointedly averted his eyes and kept his hand well-above her lower back and just so he barely touched her dress's fabric.

She knew he cared; it was only too obvious. Ginny could see it in his eyes and when he thought that she wasn't aware of it, she had caught him watching her on several occasions. Ginny also knew that he had been trying to talk to her, but every time he looked like he was going to open his mouth, he'd look away and swallow hard.

Suddenly, there was a bang and Ron cursed in such a loud voice that it startled Ginny from her thoughts and caused her to look towards the kitchen window. Ron was pulling himself up straight, his face and robes were drenched in the remainder of the soup that they had had for dinner.

Ginny fought the temptation to laugh and turned back around. The fighting had finally stopped and they were all now talking in low voices. Harry, however, had barely said two words throughout the argument. She knew that Harry respected her mother but she also knew that he was so set on leaving that he'd do about anything to get his way.

The door flew open moments later and the trio stomped out onto the porch. Ginny groaned to herself and crouched down, trying to hide in the darkness. They were on the other side, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Ginny didn't want Harry to think that she had been eavesdropping and she certainly didn't want Ron to know that she was sitting out here on her own. He had resumed his regular position to become the world's most protective brother now that Harry was no longer dating her.

"So it's settled then?" Ginny heard Hermione asked wearily.

"Yeah, I don't think we've got a choice." Harry said quietly. "Do you think we will-"

He paused and suddenly Ginny knew that Harry had spotted her, as she could feel a pair of piercing eyes on the back of her neck.

"Ginny, what are you doing out here?" Ron called to her, his voice dripping with suspicion.

Ginny turned at last and tried to look oblivious to the current mood everyone seemed to be feeling. "Getting some fresh air," she told them, relatively truthfully. "I was feeling rather faint because it's so stuffy inside."

She wasn't sure if Ron bought her story, but Hermione obviously didn't. Her arms were folded and her expression was one of both amusement and annoyance. Ginny refused to meet Harry's eyes, afraid of what she might find there.

"What happened to you?" Ginny asked calmly. "I only just sat down when I heard a horrible bang."

Ron grimaced. "Er… I was planning on heading upstairs, but I turned to fast, I suppose, and my hand hit the pot of soup, just as I tripped." He immediately remembered that he had vegetables in his hair and began to pick them out.

Hermione tore her eyes from Ginny and looked from Ron to Harry. "I'm going to bed… wake me up tomorrow." With that, she strode inside and out of sight.

Ron glanced after her and took several steps back, obviously wanting to follow Hermione for a reason that few people were aware of- Ron was Hermione's girlfriend as of July 3rd. "I think I'll… erm, goodnight!" Ron stammered and hurriedly disappeared as well, leaving Harry with Ginny.

Ginny dropped her gaze to her feet, watching a bug scuttle across the walkway. Again, she could feel Harry's eyes on her and it was at that moment when she'd had enough. She stomped ruthlessly on the bug, imagining it had Harry's face on it and got to her feet, the blanket still pulled around her body.

She strode towards the door and was feet from it when Harry spoke again. "Ginny, wait."

She froze and her hand dropped to her side, eyes flashing at him. Ginny couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he was evidently deciding on what to say next.

"What do you want, Harry?" She bit out impatiently.

"Can I talk to you?" He asked quietly, and then hastily added the word, "please?"

Ginny weighed the decision carefully, but then agreed. Harry glanced out into the backyard and gestured that they take a walk. Ginny nodded and he led the way down the porch steps and then took up a slow pace.

"You've been avoiding me," she remarked lightly. "Believe me; I can't wait to hear the excuse as to why you can't so much as say hello to me!" She said harshly, but then almost cringed. She hadn't meant to be that cold with him, but after a month of being ignored, her emotions were tangled and on the breaking point.

"You know why I've been doing that…" he mumbled.

"If it's because I think you're being a noble, stupid, stubborn prat, than yes, I do!"

"No, it's because I don't want you to get hurt." He told her firmly, his eyes still downcast.

"Really? Well if that's your intention, you're doing a poor job of it because I've been crying myself to sleep quite a lot lately!" She burst out furiously.

Guilt flooded his face and he shoved his hands roughly inside his pockets. "That pain is better than the other kind."

"What's worse than heartbreak?" She snapped.

"Loss." The word erupted something in the pit of her stomach, but she wasn't sure what it was.

"You know that's why I resolved to break it off between us, Gin. Because I didn't want you to get hurt."

Ginny stopped walking and he did so too, but seconds after. They now stood, Ginny glaring at Harry and Harry staring anywhere but at her. She was fighting back the urge to cry and she continued on her emotional rampage to make Harry understand just how badly she was hurting at the moment.

"You keep saying that, Harry, but pushing me away hurts a lot too!"

"I know." He said moodily. "Don't tell me that I haven't been upset. There's this big hole inside of me and I can't stop thinking about you. Every time I look at you, I want to take it all back and enjoy a million more wonderful hours with you in my life."

"Then let me!" Ginny spluttered. "Let me take my chances, Harry!"

"No." His voice was still firm and Ginny knew that she'd have to fight for him.

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!"

Finally, his eyes lifted and met hers. A smirk was tugging at the corners of his mouth as he retaliated.

"No."

"Yes, Harry!"

He actually chuckled and it irritated her more than anything. Fury was bubbling inside her, threatening to spill over. She wanted to hit him to knock some sense into his thick skull. Didn't he understand that no matter where she was or what she was doing, she'd always be in danger?

"Are you going to keep arguing with me like this?" He asked, still smirking.

"Until you give in, yes!" She snapped angrily.

His face sobered and he shook his head. "I'm not. I need to know that you're safe; that if I manage to pull through, you'll still be here and alive and relatively happy. Someone asked me what I wanted to do after the war and I knew right away, but I didn't say anything. Ginny, what I want more than to kill Voldemort, is…" he trailed off, his face reddening in embarrassment.

"What?" She asked, her anger fading from her quicker than it had came.

"I want to be with you and I want to get to know you. I want to spend time with you, I want to use every waking hour to make you happy. And… I… I want to love you."

Ginny felt sick with remorse with her feelings of anger and loathe. It seemed impossible than she had been so furious with him before. Harry cared so much more than she had thought he did.

"I knew that I had to talk to you before I left," he continued bravely. "Tell you that I was sorry and that I would miss you with all of my heart. But I also knew that you were miserable and hurt and angry at me. I didn't want to make you hate me before I left. I'm sorry, but I…" he broke off and looked away from her again.

"No, I'm sorry." She whispered sadly, tears now shining in her eyes. "I shouldn't have been so horrible to you. You're leaving tomorrow, aren't you?"

She didn't need to ask, she already knew he was, but if there was any chance of one more day with him, she wanted to take it. Much to her disappointment, he nodded.

"Where are you going?"

"The Dursleys," he muttered bitterly.

"And I'm not allowed to come, am I?"

"Ginny, there's no one else that I'd rather be with and if I lost you… I don't know what I'd do."

Ginny sighed and moved towards him, still hugging the blanket around her in attempt to keep warm. She stared up at him sadly, memorizing the way his messy dark hair fell in his beautiful green eyes which shone with emotion and such care that Ginny wanted to cry in his arms.

"Kiss me…" she breathed.

He hesitated. "Ginny, please don't make this any harder than it already is."

"Just one kiss."

Harry continued to stare down at her and then finally closed the distance between them. His arms wrapped around her and pulled her close. The kiss was tender and didn't last as long as Ginny had wanted, but it reaped of compassion and the feeling of care and love that she had so desperately wanted to feel in return.

He pulled back and brushed his lips against her forehead. Ginny looked up at him again and her tears finally fell onto her face. Wondering if it would be fair to tell him now, she weighed her next decision, but finally fell on a solution: she needed to tell him and he needed to know.

"Harry, I love you." She whispered, burying her face into his robes, shaking in sobs.

Harry simply hugged her but didn't say anything else.

The days turned to weeks and the weeks changed to months before Ginny spotted the familiar snowy white owl flutter past the common room window. Ginny stood up and crossed the room to open the window. The bird circled and then flew back to her, dropping the envelope into the room.

"Thanks, Hedwig…" Ginny murmured, managing to only barely give Hedwig an affectionate stroke on the head, before the magnificent bird flew off again into the sky.

She watched it go before her eyes fell upon the handwriting on the envelope and smiled to herself.

_**Miss Ginny Weasley**_

_**Hogwarts**_

_**Gryfinndor Common Room**_

Ginny carefully turned the letter over and slit it open to pull out the letter inside. Glancing around to make sure she'd be left alone, she began to read.

_Dear Ginny, _

_I'm so sorry that it took so long to write to you, but we haven't been in the same place long enough to do anything else but sleep. Hermione, Ron and I are all fine, a little exhausted, but fine. I won't give you many details in case this letter falls into the wrong hands but I will tell you what I can. _

_In the very least, we have finally destroyed three of the four Horcruxes. It was actually Hermione's doing because she managed to cast a spell on the army of creatures that were attacking us and we got away in relatively good condition. Ron got a nasty bruise on his leg and Hermione pulled a muscle in her leg and one of the creatures bit me on the arm, so I've got a cut and small rash, but other than that, we're perfectly okay. _

_How are you? How is school? Are a lot of people missing from Gryfinndor? I've been thinking about you a lot lately. Well, actually, that's not true because it's one of the only things that I do. I miss you and I worry about you. But I hope that this cheers you up: I will be seeing you shortly. _

_We've decided to take a break, but I won't say when in this letter. I think you know when, your mother has probably hinted in the last letter that she sent you. She's thrilled that we're coming home and frankly, so am I. Rations are nothing compared to your mother's cooking!_

_We're actually closer than you'd think. I think it's safe to tell you that we're back in Godric's Hollow, though by the time you read this, we'll have left. We visited my parents' graves the other day and it seemed to fill this hole deep that I've had inside of me for as long as I can remember. _

_Christmas is coming in two months and it'll be the best yet. I'll be with you, Voldemort will soon be dead and I'll finally be able to thoroughly enjoying myself without worrying about the threat of death. Not to say that there isn't any threat since I'm sure you've noticed in the Daily Prophet how vicious and enraged the Death Eaters are at the moment. _

_I've got your Christmas present already. Remus passed it down to me a few weeks back and I hope you'll like it. I didn't know that he had kept it, but he'd be saving it until I wanted and he said that he was fairly sure that I would and I am. _

_I'll see you very soon, Ginny! I can barely wait to see you again. I think it's about time that I kept my promise to you, isn't it? I still feel the same about you, if not stronger and if you want it too, I'm hoping to pick up where we left off back when you were fifteen. That was a long time ago, Gin, but it feels like yesterday that I kissed you after the Quidditch Cup. That had to be one of the best days of my life!_

_Unfortunately, I have to go now because we're leaving in a few hours and I want to get a couple more hours of sleep in. I'm counting down the days until I can see your beautiful face again, Gin!_

_Missing you terribly,_

_Harry_

Ginny looked up from her letter, a bubble of joy rising up within her as she smiled and folded the letter up. She put it into her pocket and returned to her Transfiguration homework, unable to keep the smile off her face. Harry was coming home at last!

Christmas morning was an eventful several hours that were filled with laughter, exclamations of surprise and happiness as they opened all their presents. Ginny was sitting on the sofa next to Harry with his arm slung casually around her shoulders.

"Is that all the presents?" Molly asked the room at large.

"No, I've still got one for Ginny." Harry said, a grin tugging at his lips.

Ginny tried not to look to excited or anxious to see what he had gotten her. Harry handed her a small box and she set it in her lap with a smile, untying the ribbon and unwrapping the purple wrapping paper.

Everyone in the room was watching with curiosity as Ginny found another box inside that one. She looked at him questioningly, but he only shrugged and Ginny unwrapped that box, only to find a smaller box.

"Harry!" Ginny laughed, opening the final box.

To her surprise and slight disappointment, she picked up a box of sugar quills. Harry was looking at her expectantly and Ginny hugged him, wondering why Remus had saved a box of sugar quills and Harry had taken them to be Ginny's Christmas present. Was this his idea of a joke?

"Erm, thanks." She couldn't help but notice the sarcasm in her own voice.

"Don't you want one?" Harry asked in mild astonishment.

Ginny opened the box and her eyes widened. There were no sugar quills in this box. It had been stuffed with tissue paper and Ginny raised her eyebrows, slowly taking out the tissue paper, layer by layer.

"Harry, what-" Fred began, but Ron punched his arm to make him shut up.

It was at that moment when Ginny gasped and stared into the bottom of the box, her eyes as round as galleons. She swallowed hard and pulled out the silver ring. On it, were three beautiful diamonds that glittered and caught the light.

Harry slowly took it from her trembling fingers and held it up for her to look at. "These all mean something different…" he told her quietly. "The first one means love because I love you with all of my heart, Ginny. The second means respect and trust because I have both of these things for you and the final one is a promise to one day ask for your hand in marriage."

Tears welled in her eyes as she kissed Harry, ignoring the fact that her entire family was watching. When she pulled back, Harry was smiling again.

"See? I told you that I'd keep my promise. This was my mum's promise ring that my dad gave to my mum. I want you to have it. Can I put it on you?"

She nodded and hastily wiped her eyes as he slid it onto her left ring finger. Harry shifted to kiss her again, but only briefly and then pull her into a hug.

"I love you too, Harry." She murmured, burying her face into his robes.

**Fin. **


End file.
